SOANKA
Song of the Grass Hut I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value. After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap. When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared. Now it’s been lived in-covered by weeds. The person in the hut lives here calmly, not...HOKYO ZAMMAI
Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi The dharma of thusness is intimately transmitted by buddhas and ancestors; Now you have it; preserve it well. A silver bowl filled with snow; a heron hidden in the moon. Taken as similar, they are not the same; Not distinguished,...Guidepost for the Hall of Pure Bliss
By seeking appearances and sounds One cannot truly find the Way. The deep source of realization comes with constancy, bliss, self, and purity. Its purity is constant, its bliss is myself. The two are mutually dependent, like firewood and fire. The self’s bliss...Guidepost for Silent Illumination
Silent and serene, forgetting words, bright clarity appears before you. When you reflect it you become vast, where you embody it you are spiritually uplifted. Spiritually solitary and shining, inner illumination restores wonder. Dew in the moonlight, a river of stars,...GENJO KOAN
Actualizing the Fundamental Point As all things are buddha-dharma, there is delusion and realization, practice, birth and death, and there are buddhas and sentient beings. As the myriad things are without an abiding self, there is no delusion, no realization, no...EIHEI KOSO HOTSUGANMON
Great Ancestor Eihei Dogen’s Words for Arousing the Vow We vow together with all beings, from this life on throughout numerous lifetimes, not to fail to hear the true dharma. Hearing this we will not be skeptical and will not be without faith. Directly upon...FUKANZAZENGI
Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen The Way is originally perfect and all-pervading. How could it be contingent on practice and realization? The true vehicle is self-sufficient. What need is there for special effort? Indeed, the whole body is free from...JIJUYU ZAMMAI: THE SELF-FULFILLMENT SAMADHI
For all ancestors and buddhas who have been dwelling in and maintaining buddha-dharma, practicing upright sitting in jijuyu samadhi is the true path for opening up enlightenment. Both in India and in China, those who attained enlightenment have followed this way. This...Names of Buddhas and Ancestors
Bibashi Butsu Daiosho Shiki Butsu Daiosho Bishafu Butsu Daiosho Kuruson Butsu Daiosho Kunagonmuni Butsu Daiosho Kashō Butsu Daiosho Shakamuni Butsu Daiosho Makakashō Daiosho Ananda Daiosho Shonawashu Daiosho Ubakikuta Daiosho Daitaka Daiosho Mishaka Daiosho Vashumitsu...Names of Women Ancestors
Great Teacher Mahaprajapati Great Teacher Maya Great Teacher Khema Great Teacher Uppalavanna Great Teacher Patacara Great Teacher Dhammadinna Great Teacher Sundarinanda Great Teacher Soma Great Teacher Sakula Great Teacher Bhadda Kundalakesa Great Teacher Bhadda...SHO SAI MYO KICHIJO DHARANI
(Dharani for Removing Hindrance, 3X) *2,3 NO MO SAN MAN DA MOTO NAN OHA RA CHI KOTO SHA SONO NAN *1 TO JI TO EN GYA GYA GYA KI GYA KI UN NUN SHIFU RA SHIFU RA HARA SHIFU RA HARA SHIFU RA *3 CHISHU SA CHISHU SA CHISHU RI CHISHU RI *3 SOWA JA SOWA JA SEN CHI GYA SHIRI...Gate of Sweet Dew
[Italicized portions of the text are not chanted.] Offering of invitation to the three treasures: Homage to the Buddhas in ten directions. Homage to the Dharma in ten directions. Homage to the Sangha in ten directions. Homage to our original teacher Shakyamuni Buddha....Meal Chant
(Before meals ) All : Buddha was born in Kapilavastu, Enlightened in Magadha, Taught in Varanasi, Entered nirvana in Kushinagara. Now we set out Buddha’s own bowls May we, with all living beings realize the emptiness of the three wheels, giver, receiver, and...Short Chants
Three Refuges I take refuge in Buddha. May all living beings embody the great way resolving to awaken I take refuge in Dharma. May all living beings deeply enter the sutras, into wisdom like an ocean I take refuge in Sangha. May all living beings support harmony in...Short Sutra for Protecting Life to the Bodhisattva of Compassion
EN MEI JUKKU KANNON GYO (The Ten-Verse Sutra of Avalokitesvara: 7 X) KANZEON NA MU BUTSU YO BUTSU U IN YO BUTSU U EN BUP PO SO EN JO RAKU GA JO CHO NEN KAN ZE ON BO NEN KAN ZE ON NEN NEN JU SHIN KI NEN NEN FU RI...The Stories of the Women Ancestors
We deeply honor the formal Soto Zen transmission lineage of Ancestral teachers, who transmitted the Dharma to us through their efforts. We chant their names as our Ancestral lineage. The names on that list, which goes back through Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhidharma, and...Blues and Zen
by Alan Senauke Alan Senauke is Vice Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center I heard a radio piece recently about the demise of “Your Hit Parade,” a show that ran on radio and television from the mid-1930s to 1959. Each week “Your Hit Parade” served...One Practice Samadhi
by Zhiyi from the Mohezhiguan (handout from Brook Ziporyn’s dharma talk, June 29, 2015)